On 27th May 2001 the Amble Dial was officially opened by the Rt Hon Alan Beith PC MP. The pictures below demonstrate the accuracy of the construction and show the New Town Square in use by the public.
Accuracy Test. Correct to around 15 secs!
This picture was taken on 26th May 2001 at 17:03:03 BST. It shows the shadow centred on the 4pm (GMT)/5pm (BST) line. The net correction of EoT & Longitude on that date and at that time made a dial at Amble 3m 18s slow. Despite the large construction the dial is accurate to around 15 secs, a real tribute to DP Builders of Amble who were responsible for the works.
The Dial complete
Two pictures of the square on the evening before the official opening. The new square extends the Memorial gardens and provides a small piazza with a 50 seater amphitheatre all oriented on a North-South Line using the dial as a focus.
The Opening Celebrations
The Square on the 27th May 2001 after the opening at 11.30am. Views show in turn left to right:
Local school children performing a maypole dance at the opening ceremony; A view looking South from behind the small amphitheatre; One of the hour marker plaques; 12:40am BST and The view from the entrance to the Square looking North.
Before and After
Just see what an improvement this development is! Here is a picture taken in 1999 before the work was started
and here too is a recent one of the square after all the celebrations were over. (Picture:Tony Moss)
08/07/01